


Looking at You

by Sailorzeplin



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 18:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17209055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sailorzeplin/pseuds/Sailorzeplin
Summary: Girlfriend or girl, that's a friend?It's easy just to pretendThat we don't have something realIt's just how we feel—Flaming Hot Cheetos by Clairo





	Looking at You

Brian felt his eyes wander back to the face of the man sitting across from him, watching as his eyebrows furrowed, bottom lip being tugged under his incisor as he chewed on it nervously, a habit that Brian had picked up on in the year they had been working together. However, Brian being able to read Pat as well as he could might also be attributed to the fact that, for months now, he had found himself pining after his friend and coworker. In that time he had spent many a boring day at his desk gazing at him, learning how he looked when he was sad, happy, angry or anxious. Memorizing the plains of his face in every situation, trying to gather as many memories as possible. Brian was snapped out of his not-so-subtle staring when Pat directed a question at him.  
“Hey Brian, you good? You’ve been looking at me for the past, like, five minutes. What’s up?”  
“Oh. Nothing. I’m just worried about you man. You look anxious. You good?” Brian silently cursed his inability to be subtle, but the concern behind his deflection was genuine. Pat seemed worried, and he wanted to know why.   
“It’s nothing man. I’ve just got a lot of projects going on right now. You know how it is, yeah?” Pat cracked a smile, causing Brian’s heart to, embarrassingly, skip multiple beats.   
“Yeah man, I feel you. You should take a break tonight. Do something to relax. And no, before you ask, watching WWE and tweeting about your cat doesn’t really count.”   
“Awh man. You just took away like, every single one of my options there. But, for real, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for drinks? Nothing too big, just a little place near my apartment if you’re up for it?” Brian knew this was a bad idea, combining liquor and his crush, but Pat looked so eager he couldn’t possibly say no.   
“Sure dude. When do you want to go?”  
“Just lemme finish editing this video, then we can head out. If that’s okay?”  
“Works for me.” With that Pat turned back to his editing, giving Brian around thirty minutes to figure out how he would make it through the night without making a complete fool of himself.   
~  
Turns out, Brian hadn’t even needed to be drunk to make a fool of himself. When Pat finished he video, he began to prepare to leave, asking Brian if he was still up to go out. And Brian, overeager and nervous, had agreed so profusely that when he nodded his glasses went flying off his face, promptly hitting the floor. This had caused Pat to very poorly attempt to mask his giggles as Brian crouched down and picked them up, not resisting making the Velma joke that he was just dying to get out.   
The embarrassment did not stop there, instead, it definitely got worse. When they entered the elevator Brian felt his hands shaking, but he still insisted on pressing the button to go down, which had the potential to be chivalrous, but resulted in an awkward moment where they realized they had gone down too far, and had to get back in the elevator to ride back up to the ground floor out of the parking garage. But when they finally left the building, fresh cold hitting Brian’s face, he felt much better, embarrassed flush fading and allowing him to fall back into his natural pacing, walking and talking easily with Pat, smile bright on his face as he listened to his friend vividly recount the run-in he had with a street performer that morning on his way to the subway. He tipped his head back in laughter, not noticing the soft smile Pat directed towards him, before bursting into laughter himself, all traces of nervousness or anxiety in either of them melting away, letting them enjoy their time together.   
~  
When they arrived at the bar Brian immediately understood why Pat liked it. The place was small, not too loud, and everyone in the place looked familiar and comfortable. It had a homey environment, and Brian made sure to note its name, knowing that he’d definitely want to be back. They found a small table near the back, under a tv playing an old hockey game from a few days prior, Pat making a passing remark about it, something that fully bewildered Brian.   
“You watch hockey? I didn’t know that Pat where have you been hiding that particular hobby dude?”  
“Oh yeah. I’m not a big fan, just watch the NHL stuff, mainly just interested because I used to play back in middle school. Always thought it was a pretty cool game.”  
That did nothing to clear things up for Brian, instead, it just added another new fact into the mix.   
“You used to play hockey? What the heck man, you’ve got like, a whole hidden life.” Brian wasn’t particularly surprised that Pat had been athletic in his youth, because there was no way Pat could look like that without playing some type of sport, but hockey?  
“Hold on. Wait. What about that time we went ice skating, and you made me teach you how to skate?” Brian really hadn’t had a major problem teaching Pat, as it had given him an excuse to hold Pat’s hand for the majority of the outing, but now that he knew that Pat had known all along and had let him teach him how to skate made something warm bubble in his chest, although that definitely could just be the drink sitting in his stomach.  
“I dunno why I let you teach me. I guess…” Pat trailed off, flush rising on his face “you just get so excited when you teach, your eyes go all bright and you get this goofy smile. It just… it’s a good look for you.” The feeling in Brian’s chest intensified, melting him completely. Pat was still flushed pink, but he quickly moved to hide it behind his glass, taking a long drink. Brian felt courage build in him, hoping he wasn’t taking what Pat said the wrong way.   
“Hey Pat, can we go talk outside? I’ve uh got something to tell you.” Brian waited anxiously for Pat to respond, but all the tension bled out of his body when Pat agreed. He chugged down the rest of his drink, figuring it would help him be more courageous, before weaving through tables to get to the exit, stepping out into the cold, sun beginning to set in the distance, lowering the temperature from when they had entered. Brian turned to look at Pat, shifting his weight from foot to foot in a nervous shuffle, nerves rattling.   
“Okay. Okay. Pat. This might sound kinda weird, well, it’ll probably sound really weird. So I’m sorry in advance. But uhm. You’re really cool. You’re smart, and funny. And I like being around you. You’re a really great friend. But. Uhm…” Brian trailed off, fumbling over his words, hands shaking. He opened his mouth to try again, when suddenly Pat had ducked down and connected their mouths, soft, gentle. Brian tensed, eyes open in shock. However, when Pat started to pull back, his body flew into motion. Brian began to kiss back with fervor, wrapping one hand gently in Pat’s hair, the other gripping the collar of his jacket. Their lips were both chapped, and the hand on the back of Brian’s neck was ice cold. But he couldn’t bring himself to care as Pat kissed him over and over. Finally, they separated, foreheads pressed together as they panted softly.   
“Hey.” Pat whispered, smiling.   
“Hey.”  
“I think this is a good look for you too.”  
~  
Heading into office the next day, Brian found himself gazing at Pat again. However, this time, Pat was gazing back.


End file.
